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| Photo credit: LUZ Photo Agency |
ππ’ π¬π’π¨ ππππ ππππ π¬π’π¨'π©π ππππππ©ππ π§ππ ππ’πππ¦ π¬π’π¨ π¦ππ§ ππ’π₯ π¬π’π¨π₯π¦πππ©ππ¦ ππππ’π₯π π§ππ πππ₯π¦π§ ππππ¨π ?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “The first album, in our opinion, was full of energy and radiated a bright beauty. The new album is more emotional, more intense, goes more in the direction of loneliness and hopelessness. It's like coming down after a euphoric high, a kind of first depression.”
π ππππ‘πππ’ππ¬ πππ¦π’ ππ’π ππ¦ π§π’ π ππ‘π...
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Yes, if the first album was about sex, then the second one is about the unpleasant consequences of it or a relationship in general. There were a lot of love songs on the first album and actually I wanted to write more about other things on the second album, but I had a lot of fucked-up-relationships in the meantime and I couldn't really get away from that thematically. So I had to put those impressions on paper somehow.”
ππ¨π§ π§πππ§'π¦ π₯ππππππ§ππ π π¨π¦ππππππ¬ ππ¦ πͺπππ.
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Right. That also comes from the change in the line-up, Steve Hewitt left the band but then came back and with him we gained confidence in our songwriting. I suddenly dared to write more complex stuff, we gained more confidence in our technical abilities on our instruments and so we wanted to try more and more. We're pushing our limits more often now. With Steve in the band, the atmosphere within the group has become a bit more familiar and intimate again. Somehow it's like 'Placebo Mark II', a new chapter, a new era.”
πͺππ¬ πππ π₯π’πππ₯π§ [π¦πππ¨ππ§ππππ₯π] ππππ©π π§ππ πππ‘π πππ§ππ₯ π§πͺπ’ π¬πππ₯π¦? π§ππ π¦π§ππ₯π§ πͺππ§π π§ππ ππππ¨π§ ππππ¨π πͺππ¦ π©ππ₯π¬ π£π₯π’π ππ¦ππ‘π.
π’ π½π§πππ£: “We just couldn't make music together anymore because our relationship had sunk to a very general level. But Placebo is not a music purpose group, so Robert left the band. After that, we started looking for a new drummer, but we couldn't find one who fit that quickly. So I made Steve an offer he just couldn't refuse, so he left Breed and came back to us.”
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “He threatened to beat me up, and well, here I am.”
π¦π§ππ©π, πͺππ₯π π¬π’π¨ ππ‘π©π’ππ©ππ ππ‘ π§ππ π¦π’π‘ππͺπ₯ππ§ππ‘π ππ’π₯ π§ππ π‘ππͺ π₯πππ’π₯π ππ₯π’π π§ππ πππππ‘π‘ππ‘π?
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “Yeah, after all, I've been back at it for two years, just after the first tour for our first album. We've been working on the new album for a long time, coming up with new ideas every now and then, experimenting and discarding a lot of things. But we also noticed during the first rehearsal sessions that we can communicate well with each other.”
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Yes, we are constantly pushing ourselves. We are already developing new ideas for the next album and rehearsing new songs. We can't stop writing at all.... at the moment. In addition, we have also had similar personal experiences in recent years. We noticed that more and more while working on the new album and so our style changed while writing and sharing our recent pasts.”
πππ‘ π¬π’π¨ π‘ππ π π’π‘π π¦π’π‘π π’π‘ π§ππ π‘ππͺ ππππ¨π π§πππ§ π ππ₯ππ¦ π§πππ¦ π§π¨π₯π‘ππ‘π π£π’ππ‘π§?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “No, actually there is no specific song. We had slower songs on the first album, but this time they go a notch deeper. It was a subconscious process, a kind of drive that you don't realize until it's done. Maybe it was because we disconnected from the outside world more than usual this time. We spent a lot more time outside of our usual environment, maybe that's how we discovered the afflictions that had been with us for years but that we hadn't worked on before.”
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| Photo credit: Adrian Green |
ππ’ π¬π’π¨ πππ¦π’ π πππ‘ π§ππ π§ππ π π¦π£ππ‘π§ π§π’π¨π₯ππ‘π π’π₯ ππ’ π¬π’π¨ ππ¨π¦π§ π πππ‘ π§ππ π§ππ π π¦π£ππ‘π§ ππ¨π₯ππ‘π π‘ππͺ π¦π’π‘ππͺπ₯ππ§ππ‘π?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Especially when you're touring, there are some very strange things going on. You encounter situations that no normal person would, you live in extremes that you wouldn't normally encounter. This is the first time we've experienced that on a larger scale, and it's been quite upsetting. During the tour we were already writing songs, "Brick Shithouse" was basically written during a sound check.”
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “You suddenly have more access to yourself, I certainly did. Even during the tour our expectations of our music and our approach changed. We went from a simple rock feel to the things that had been on our minds for years, and we wanted to bring more emotion to the stage.”
(Brian had played a new version of "Teenage Angst" at the beginning of the interview session, he refers to it in the following sentence).
π’ π½π§πππ£: “That's the difference between "Teenage Angst" and the new version of the song, which has become very melancholic, which we transformed more and more to that during our tour. We want to explore the scope of our skills more and more and the tendency is towards melancholy. But we can say about ourselves today, when we go there, we really go in that direction, it's not playing around anymore, the emotions are real, we don't need to pretend to anything. When you see us on stage on our next tour, you really see us. That's Placebo.”
π¬π’π¨π₯ π ππππ‘πππ’ππ¬, ππ¦π£πππππππ¬ ππ‘ π¦π’π‘ππ¦ ππππ “π π¬ π¦πͺπππ§ π£π₯ππ‘ππ” π₯ππ ππ‘ππ¦ π π π πππ§ π£π πππ‘π ππ’π©ππ¦ πππππππ.
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Really? I've never heard Gene Loves Jezebel.”
π§ππ π¦πππ‘ππ¦π¦ ππ‘π π ππππ‘πππ’ππ¬ ππ‘ π¬π’π¨π₯ π©π’πππ ππ¦ π©ππ₯π¬ πππ’π¦π π§π’ π§πππ§ π’π πππ‘π ππ’π©ππ¦ πππππππ 'π΅π― ππππ¨π .
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “On "My sweet prince" I think it's one hundred percent spot on. That's the perfect sad song.”
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Yeah, on that song it's hard to go any deeper, I mean basically what we want to do is look deeper inside ourselves and stir up more emotions.”
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “When you've spent a whole day working on a song like "My sweet prince" and then you listen to the finished song, it makes you so happy-sad that you want to jump out the window.”
π’ π½π§πππ£: “You laugh, but he really wanted to. Well, at least he hinted at it after the two days it took us to write the song.”
π’ ππ©ππ«π: (recreating the situation from that time) “Aaahh (sigh), and now I want to jump off the skyscraper.”
ππ¨π π£, π‘π’π§ πͺπππ ππππ ππ‘ π§ππ π©ππππ’?
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “No like your sticker: Suicidal Tendencies.”
π¬π’π¨ ππ¨π¬π¦ πππ©π ππππ‘ π¦π£π’π¨π§ππ‘π π ππ’π§ π’π π’π£π§ππ ππ¦π ππ‘ π§ππ π£π₯ππ¦π¦ πππ§ππ₯ π§ππ πππ₯π¦π§ ππππ¨π . πππ¦ π§πππ¦ π’π£π§ππ ππ¦π π₯ππ πππ‘ππ πππ¦π£ππ§π π¬π’π¨π₯ π ππππ‘πππ’πππ ππππ‘ππ π’π π¦π§π¬ππ?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Absolutely, but we found that every little stupid detail you'll have heard about a rock'n'roll life is actually true. And that was a big disappointment. Because not only are they true, they're even worse than what you hear.”
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “Too many hangovers and stuff.”
π’ π½π§πππ£: “The rock and roll lifestyle can get you all down in the dumps and chase your soul into the blender, or better yet, the meat grinder. It's disillusioning to realize that it doesn't fulfill your desires, for example my desire to be able to make even more music, to be even more creative. On the contrary, it prevents you from being creative. And we as Placebo feel a fundamental need to make music. Without that, we would be pretty fucked-up people. But it hasn't affected our optimism in our abilities and potential. We lead a very schizophrenic life anyway, our job offers a lot of insecurities and also outrageousness, we also reflect that on "Without you I'm nothing”."
ππ§ ππ¦ π¦πππ π§πππ§ πππ©ππ ππ’πͺππ πππ¦ π£π₯π’π π’π§ππ π¬π’π¨π₯ πππ₯πππ₯ π¦πππ‘ππππππ‘π§ππ¬.
π’ π½π§πππ£: “He invited us to Madison Square Garden for his 50th birthday, we played there as an opener. And we toured with him a total of three times. Of course it helps you when a David Bowie invites you to join him on his tour and we were very happy to do that. We like him and he likes us. But that's also it: he likes us and our music, no, the music first, just and that's it. It's nice to have impressed such a great musician like David Bowie already with your debut album. It has filled us with pride, not without reason, but it had no influence on us as a band or on our next goals.”
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| Photo credit: David Tonge |
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Okay, next question. Seriously, Britpop is deader than dead, Blur and Oasis are American bands now and Placebo were never really a British band. That's why Steve left us the first time. But then he realized that we were right.”
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “And this great offer that I couldn't refuse...”
π¬π’π¨π₯ ππ’π¨π₯π‘ππ¬ ππ‘π§π’ π¬π’π¨π₯ ππ‘π‘ππ₯ π¦πππ π£π₯π’πππππ¬ πππ¦π’ ππ‘ππ©ππ§ππππ¬ πππ π¬π’π¨ ππππ π§π’ π¬π’π¨π₯ π£ππ¦π§. “ππ¨π₯πππ₯ π€π¨πππ‘” ππ’π¨ππ ππ π π₯ππ¦π¨ππ§ π’π π¬π’π¨ ππ’π ππ‘π π§π’ π§ππ₯π π¦ πͺππ§π π§ππ π£ππ¦π§, π π ππ π’π₯π¬ π’π π¬π’π¨π₯ [ππ₯πππ‘ ππ‘π π¦π§ππππ‘ π’ππ¦πππ'π¦] π¬π’π¨π§π π§π’πππ§πππ₯?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “First of all, we just called the song "Burger Queen" because it attracts more attention that way as opposed to Burger King, so to speak. It just stands out more in terms of the title. But it's not an autobiographical lyric, if that's what you mean. The song is about fictional characters. Stefan and I grew up in Luxembourg, spent a lot of time there and we really like Luxembourg. Our memories of it are really good in nature, although there's never too much happening there. But we've always felt that one day we'd have to get out of there to live a different, better, more exciting life elsewhere than it would have been possible in Luxembourg. But the person the song is about, a very, very sad song by the way, is a person who feels incredibly lonely, who believes he is ultimately alone, alienated and disconnected from everything that surrounds him. The character is gay and does drugs, and that's bad enough without living in Luxembourg. But when all three come together, then mercy be to God, it's fucked. The song is about such a person who feels like a stranger in his surroundings and even in himself. But it's really just a story, has nothing to do with me.”
π¦π’ πͺππ¬ πππ π¬π’π¨ πππ’π’π¦π ππ¨π«ππ ππ’π¨π₯π ππ¦ π§ππ ππ’πππ§ππ’π‘ ππ’π₯ π§ππ π¦π§π’π₯π¬?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Because I know what I'm talking about. I always want to be able to understand everything very well when I write about something. And I can relate to this person's situation because I know Luxembourg. Gay and drug addicted in Bombay, I have no idea about that, I couldn't write a song like that.”
π£ππππππ’ ππ¦ π‘π’π§ π π’π‘π-πππ§-πͺπ’π‘πππ₯, πππ§ππ’π¨ππ “π‘ππ‘ππ¬ ππ’𬔠πͺππ¦ πππ₯π§πππ‘ππ¬ ππ‘ π¨π‘πππ₯ππ₯π’π¨π‘π ππ‘π§πππ ππ‘ π§ππ πππ¨ππ¦. ππ’πͺ ππ’ π¬π’π¨ ππ¨π¬π¦ ππππ πππ’π¨π§ π§πππ§?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Lucky, yeah we got really lucky with that. We had more success with the whole album than we ever dreamed of. Of course, people at our concerts expect us to play "Nancy Boy", but we're happy to do it because it's not the same pressure as if we had written a world hit that hit like a bomb. But I still have to say that the success of "Nancy Boy" has kept me a little bit from writing a song like that again. On the one hand, because I really didn't want to create a new "Nancy Boy" and we didn't want to repeat ourselves, but mostly because I wanted to challenge our audience anew, with new songs and a new style. Entertaining a live audience over and over again is the biggest challenge for me. "Nancy Boy" is just a kind of spot on Placebo in 1996, two years later should and must be refocused. In our band history, "Nancy Boy" should once be nothing more than hit no.1!”
πππ π§ππ π¦π¨π¦π¦ππ¦π¦ π’π π₯ππππ’ππππ π£π¨π§ π¬π’π¨ π’π‘ π§ππ π ππππ‘πππ’ππ¬ π§π₯πππ?
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Not necessarily. We think "O.K. Computer" is nice, although it comes across too Pink Floyd-like to me at the end, but Radiohead are not a source of inspiration for us. Thom processes his mental lows and highs and we process ours. There may be unintentional parallels, but musically there are no similarities. My emotional power is also more introspective than Thom's. He always relates to the whole world, while I cannot. I don't even know myself inside out.”
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “There are other records that we've been listening to a lot more than Radiohead lately or in the last year, DJ Shadow for example, "High Noon" is a fantastic song.”
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| Photo credit: David Titlow |
π'π©π ππππ₯π ππππ’π₯π π§πππ§ π¦π§ππ©π ππ¦ π πππ‘ π’π πππππ§π₯π’π‘ππ π π¨π¦ππ, ππ’ππ¦π‘'π§ π§πππ§ ππ’π π π¨π£ π πππ§π§ππ π¦ππ’π₯π§ ππ‘ π§ππ π‘ππͺ ππππ¨π ?
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “Definitely not. I like this kind of music but we want to make rock music. Still, I was really looking forward to working with Steve Osborne, who has worked with the Happy Mondays and U2 and does a lot of remixes for bands.”
π’ π½π§πππ£: “Yeah, we wanted a producer who was more in contrast to us than purely on our wave. We know enough about rock music, in our opinion, so we needed a producer who knew something about technology. So with the help of the machines, which were foreign to us, we were able to fabricate a kind of eclectic mix that brought us the modern, forward looking sound that we wanted to have.”
πͺππ¦ ππ ππ‘π©π’ππ©ππ ππ‘ π¬π’π¨π₯ π¦π’π‘ππͺπ₯ππ§ππ‘π?
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “Steve [Osborne] is a tech geek, he just helped us find the right way to sound, but he wasn't involved in any creative part of the songwriting.”
π’ π½π§πππ£: “He got our demos and then he developed some kind of strategy how the songs could sound as much as possible according to our idea. That's why the new album is more complex on the sonic level, the first album sounded maybe more ambitious but also more superficial.”
π¦π§πππ, π πππ§ π§ππ ππ π£π₯ππ¦π¦ππ’π‘ π§πππ§ π¬π’π¨ πͺππ₯π π π’π₯π ππ’π‘πππ₯π‘ππ πͺππ§π π¬π’π¨π₯π¦πππ©ππ¦ π§πππ‘ πͺππ§π π’π§πππ₯ πππ‘ππ¦.
π’ ππ©ππ«π: “Exactly. We just use other people's music to distract us a little bit, but it doesn't play a role in our sound. To stay unique you can't steal someone else's sound or try to represent something that doesn't come from you. Everything has to come from within and that's what makes us so proud of "Without you I'm nothing”."
(Discover, September 1998, interviewer: Ralph Buchbender)
Post by Silke
